In 2010–11, of the 11.2 million people who were employed, 65% had a qualification while 35% did not. About four out of ten employed people (41%) worked in the same field as their highest qualification and an additional 10% of people not working in the same field described their highest qualification as highly relevant or relevant to their current job. (Table 6)

In this section the term "relevant" refers to where people stated they currently work in the same field as their highest qualification or, if not working in the same field, stated their highest qualification was still highly relevant or relevant to their current job. For example, Table 11 shows 41% of Managers currently work in the same field as their highest qualification and 17% described their highest qualification as still highly relevant or relevant to their current job although not working in the same field. Therefore, 58% of Managers (including those without a qualification) reported their highest qualification as being relevant to their current job.

Six out of ten employed people in the 25–34 year age group (60%) and a similar proportion of those in the 35–44 year age group (58%) were currently employed in a job relevant to the main field of study of their highest qualification. In comparison, 49% of employed people aged 55–64 years worked in a job where their highest qualification was relevant. (Table 8)

In 2010–11, 14% of all employed people worked in a job where their highest qualification was not at all relevant. Of the 1.6 million people who believed their highest qualification was not at all relevant to their current job, 29% stated that they were no longer interested in the field of their qualification, 20% said they were comfortable in their current job and 20% said that there was a lack of available positions in their field. (Table 8)

Almost nine out of ten (88%) employed people whose highest qualification was a postgraduate award, such as a Doctorate, Masters degree or Graduate Diploma/Graduate Certificate, reported their qualification was relevant to their current job, compared with 72% of people whose highest qualification was Certificate I/II. (Table 9)

People employed in the Education and training industry (80%), Health care and social assistance (74%) and Professional, scientific and technical services (73%) were most likely to be employed in a job relevant to their highest qualification. (Table 10)

Of all people employed in Professional occupations, 84% worked in a job where their highest qualification was relevant, a higher rate than those employed in any other occupation. In contrast, 16% of Machinery operators and drivers worked in a job where their highest qualification was relevant. However, 62% of all Machinery operators and drivers did not have a qualification. (Table 11)

EMPLOYED PERSONS AGED 15–64 YEARS, Relevance of main field of highest qualification to current job by occupation(a)